~ Voodoo Priestess Estate ~ ©

17" Strand of Shengxiào Zi Wei Dou Shu Burmite Spirit Channeling Chips

A Black Pyramid Vèvé Room Find

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This is another of our long listings with an abundance of text and 8 photographs!
 
 So please sit back and read the listing through, if you have come this far we feel you will find it was worth the wait.

Nearly twenty-two and a half years ago we were called to do an estate that had been closed up for seventeen years! 

The Voodoo Estate!

This type of call usually gets us excited as they are a treasure trove.  Located here in Florida, there was no electricity or running water so we rigged our own lighting and in we went.  If you have ever seen the Adams Family you will have some idea as to what we were greeted with!  Then the attorney handling the liquidation gave us some background.
 
The estate had belonged to an alleged powerful Voodoo Priestess/JooJoo Exorcist, favored granddaughter of a Marie Laveau, and daughter of a Marie Glapion.  These names meant nothing to us, but the late night talk of Voodoo and exorcism in the old mansion was enough for us to spend the night in a hotel and return in the morning to assess the estate.  The rest is history. 
 
Our research has shown that this woman was what she claimed and was indeed descended from a long line of a well known Voodoo family originating in New Orleans in the early 1800's.  We were a little unnerved by this until we discovered they were also devout Catholics!  Although I have to admit this was unlike any Catholic home we have ever been in and some of the items found inside were a bit disturbing.  There was no feeling of dread or unwelcome in the mansion, however there was quite a bit of contraband and other items we can or will not sell here.
 
This is one of a few pieces from this estate we will be listing this week, so check our other items.
 
We will, upon the new guardian's request, issue a named Letter of Authenticity with each lot from this estate, complying with the terms set forth to us by the estate's attorney.

Some Back Story

Found in what we have named "The Vèvé Pyramid Room."  This room was an interesting work of architecture.  Windowless and located just above the Main Ballroom in the center of the mansion, it was only accessible through a trapdoor and cast iron spiral staircase from the storage room above it.  The floor was four feet below the Main Ballroom ceiling, well concealed by the baroque architecture.  The architect had concealed the room in the floor above by surrounding it with four guest suites, it was dead center in the mansion.
 
Painted black, with ebony flooring and paneling, the contents of the room consisted of seven, LiDiex Black Glass and Silver, charging pyramid boxes and their contents.  Measuring exactly twelve feet x twelve feet with a twelve foot ceiling, the room was well concealed by the architecture of the house, but was stifling as there was no ventilation, the only air coming from the trap door above and that was not much.
 
Only a few of us went into this room to recover and inventory the contents and none of us could stay in there for more than a few minutes, it was, well, disorientating.
 
This was another room with no wiring for electrical power and on the floor were the remnants of previously used vèvé's that we assume were drawn with the chalky powder found in one of the pyramids.  The remaining six pyramids contained an interesting assortment of jewelry & mineral specimens that she kept inventoried in a separate journal concerning the ceremonies conducted in this room.
 
The pyramids varied in size from 9" x 9" x 7" to 3' x 3' x 2.2', so this was a massive undertaking as most of these were too big, heavy and/or fragile to get out of there safely, full as they were.
 
Concerning the pieces from this room she writes, "I have used these pieces to awaken psychic perception and mystical awareness and have found them to strengthen my memory and as an aid in dreaming. I continue to receive insight and inspiration from them." 
 
And; "many of the ones awakened have sought refuge here, most being complacent in their worlds.  They will come if called to a blood match."
 
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In these journals she makes some fantastic claims concerning these items and real or imagined, we understand why she was as feared and respected as she was.
 
We can attest that pieces from this room have shown to possess some remarkable attributes or association with what might be called paranormal activity.
 
Some of those who have had access to these items and/or their photographs have been quoted as feeling ill or nauseous, often followed by a feeling of warmth, well being, happiness and power.  In addition there are numerous reports from those who claim to have perceived, felt, saw, sensed, etc., at the very least movement in and/or around the items, many times directly related to them, but you be the judge.
 
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The Strands
 
Strands of chips were generally found lining the bottom of her spell boxes.  The boxes in this room were no exceptions.  Her journals tell us "nothing is to waste at the cuttings," indicating the chips were remnants of carvings gathered, polished and strung for her own use.

Fourteen of these strands were recovered from these pyramids. They are the chip remnants of the Burmite carvings that we offered and sold out twelve years ago.

 The 1888 LiDiex journals allege this material was used in the containment of the living essence of a pair of Djinn that walked the earth 25,000 years ago!

It is his documented journey along a trail to those original carvings and the source of amber that they were carved from that led to their procurement of them along with a small collection of Buddhist and Hindu depictions carved from this rare material.  These chips being a by-product.

1888 LiDiex  

The research involved with this estate continues to provide fascinating glimpse into the lives of those associated with it.  

The procurer of this amber was a 4th. generation descendant of the original Man Known Only As "LiDiex" to the shores of this country, who came here as a survivor and saboteur of the slave Ship Henrietta Marie in 1701, who found his way to New Orleans to meet with the parents of the then infant grandmother of our priestess, Marie Laveau.  It is said that he facilitated this disaster using egg shells to cast a spell, and certain folklore concerning egg shells corroborate this.  He made his way as a wood carver and furniture maker as did many of his descendants.  

This is another case of the multi-generational relationships we have encountered with this family as the LiDiex all had a strong association with these women.   

He is the least mentioned of the LiDiex in her journals, yet he kept a suite of rooms with her from the time of his sixteenth birthday.  Apparently he would leave for periods of up to a decade before returning to the estate of his mistress, then shutting himself in for lengthy periods of time before leaving again.  There is no record of the death of this LiDiex. 

He is attributed with the design and consecration of the, "Resurrection Skull Altar" and most of the ceremonial spells used with it.

Her journals and those of her live in practitioner, followers tell of this altar being used in ritual resurrection ceremonies.

There are some pretty fantastic tales of animating inanimate objects, notably a number of skulls, many human and some being the skulls of Tibetan Monk's that dated back over seven centuries!  With these, they would use specific minerals, potions, elixirs and reptiles.

He is described in her journals as being, "in excess of six feet of sinewy muscle, deceptively strong, easily matching two of his size in their grappling" and "extensively, shaved, tattooed and pierced" in addition to, "shown to be capable of high magic without devices."

 Their journals claim his ability to heal wounds, shape shift, travel through time and space, telepath and create life with the power of his thought.  They also corroborate the sharing of identities with a number of other LiDiex, "being a master of disguise and misdirection, often with his mere thought" according to these entries.  This gave these men the ability to appear in two or more places at once.  This was an old family ploy, apparently often used by their mistress.

It is this LiDiex who is attributed with making her introduction to Alexandra David Neel and his journals tell of numerous meetings and short adventures with her.  Claiming at the age of twenty four to have met Neel for the second time in the company of Prince Sidkeong of Sikkim and of being her teacher of the Tibetan language having already spent six years with the Great Hermit as apprentice.

Much is already written on these subjects, so there is no need to elaborate here in this already overly long text, but we wholeheartedly recommend a cursory search for some very interesting reading.

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But Back to the Amber Chip Strands 

These Burmite chips have a fascinating history, but it is the story of the trail that led to their recovery and to what they deemed to be the source of the Burmite they were taken from that pertains to them. 

Their journals, and her inventory refer to this material as, "blood amber" and make note of their use of it as "vessels."

In the winter of 1934, the LiDiex had made contact with a Chinese trader of Borneo who it was correctly said of having a quantity of carvings made from this red amber.  It is unclear how many carvings were purchased from this trader, but their journals indicate they bought his entire stock.

The visit lead to their eventual recovery of their sought, "Blood Sap" from its source and their journals tell of pirates, headhunters and ruthless traders met along the way.

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Their use of this, "Blood Sap" is described in an entry where she traveled to Egypt, successfully seeking, finding and binding an, "Ishtar" to a figural carving of this material.  She tells of, "resurrecting her essence through my own blood" and of having lengthy conversations with the, "intelligent essence contained within."

The notes concerning her interactions with her "Ishtar" tell of, "capturing this essence through guile and magic.  Their essence being contaminated with the secret codes contained in my blood (DNA?) which is what holds and lends them to my will".

 ~!~

She also tells us, "this is a receiver of spiritual essence" and, "it is Shengxiào, Zi Wei Dou Shu Amber." 

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Shengxiào translates to English as Chinese Zodiac.  It is a structured, and systematic plan of future action, that corresponds each year to a specific animal and its attributes, as laid out in a twelve year mathematical cycle.  It is widely practiced throughout Eastern Asia.

Identifying this practice using the term "zodiac" reflects numerous similarities to the western zodiac.  Both have cycles of time divided into twelve parts, each labels the majority of those parts with names of animals, and each is widely associated with a culture of attributing influence of a person's relationship to the cycle upon their personality and/or events in their life.

There are major differences however.  The Chinese twelve part cycle corresponds to years rather than months, and is represented by twelve animals, while some of the signs in the Western zodiac are not.  The animals of the Chinese zodiac are not associated with constellations, nor those spanned by the ecliptic plane.

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Zi Wei Dou Shu translates to the English as, “Purple Star Astrology.”  It is a well respected form of fortune telling in Chinese culture, essentially a process for laying out "The Destiny Path" or "Fate."

In practice, one seeking their fortune told presents their moment of birth: year, month, day, and time to the fortune teller.  This information is crucial, without it, the fortune cannot be told.  One’s name in Kanji is also necessary at times.  Although this is practiced, it is outside the scope of zi wei dou shu. 

One difference from astrology is that the positions in zi wei dou shu do not correspond to the actual position of those stars.  Calculations are worked out to chart the stars into twelve different palaces or Gong.  This would then be one's Natal Birth Chart or Mìng Pán.

By integrating the stars and palaces, their attributes, environmental factors, the Five elements, the concept of Yin and Yang and all possible combinations and variations, including the position of the symbolic stars and their interrelations.  Not only can personalities be understood, but personal and professional relationships can be predicted.  The end result is a calculated translation of one's destiny in detail including events that have already happened in the past for verification purposes.

The plotting of one's birth chart is not difficult.  What is difficult in Zi Wei Dou Shu is the complex system of interpretation that allows us to 'read' the blueprint of our lives.

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Their Use of Burmite

This material was widely used in their candle and root work, specifically with their gris gris bags which they referred to as, Mo Jo Hands.  Essentially, they claim to have created a life from that would dwell within the burmite and these MoJo hands which they would feed through offerings and chanted prayer while in the presence of root worked or dressed candles burning.  We find similar practices being attributed to the Buddhist sorcerer monks, of Tibet, Thailand and Cambodia.

Their journals tell us these practices circumvent much of the traditional practices, by creating a living entity to dwell in these talisman to aid in predictions of the future for themselves and others, a practice that apparently was uncanny in accuracy, and very lucrative for them.

She also notes of using these strands as hand and wrist wraps in prayer while holding other pieces from these boxes

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These Strands

Examination reveals these strands measure approximately 17" in length and consist chips that measure approximately 1/16 to 3/32" x 1/4" to 5/16".

The chips have been loosely strung on golden yellow Griffin silk beading cord to form strands weighing 7.5 grams. 

A shoebox full of Griffin silk beading cord was recovered from this estate.  Her inventory shows she purchased a gross or more of this material, factory direct in Germany, once a year for three decades beginning in 1950. Griffin has been in business since the late 19th. century, and still offers this same cord, which has been used to string beads for royalty, even today.  

There is no clasp and these strands need one if you intend to wear one as a necklace.  They are too short to fit over your head. 

Quite a few of these strands were recovered from other parts of the estate, adorning religious iconography, Buddhist and Christian alike. 

These strands are being sold individually.

It is certainly a nicely aged vintage strand of Burmite chips with an extraordinary provenance that is much nicer than our photographer has been able to depict. 

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Final Commentary
 
Concerning these lots are some of the following excerpts from the written statement of one of the principals; "When we first entered this room we used pocket led flashlights, commonly known as tactical lights, this room lit up like a light show as we directed the beams, the three of us said "did you see that?"  Among other things."
 
"When we ran 2000 watts of light down there, the lights shut down, period.  They just would not work in the room.  We checked the generators & the lights worked fine out of that room, but in it, no go.  Regular, battery operated flashlights went dead in there too, fresh batteries went dead in a second."
 
   To date, Energizer has not responded.
 
Little more thought was given this until one of us more or less became the caretaker of this lot, more because he was the only one able to get to the warehouse alcove where the balance of this estate was kept due to the way we had packed the volume of merchandise that came into the warehouse over the ensuing years.
 
Although the photographer is no longer commenting on his use of a directed, high intensity led and ultra-violet light in taking some of the photographs, the staff member who retrieved many of these items from "the hole", the warehouse alcove where the balance of the items from this estate are being stored, offers some insight as to what has transpired.
 
"It was typical to be back there and have the power go out, but this can easily be attributed to our weather conditions and sorry excuse for a power company, but I had taken one of my pocket tac-lights with me and the first time I used it back there was, well, nothing short of phenomenal and overwhelming.  This is not a joke, they like the light!"
 
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We have been contacted and visited by a number of people who were interested in the items from this estate since our first batch was listed.  Among the buyers have been known psychics and practitioners.  More than one, after adorning themselves or handling their purchase, stated "this is a woman of power!"  Many of our customers, after receiving items from this estate have reported dream contacts and other unexplained phenomenon.
 
Unusual, authentic Voodoo Priestess Estate piece and at a bargain price!
 
This is truly a rare opportunity to own anything with attributes to this estate.  The majority of this estate is now gone.  Most of what we had left, and it was considerable, has been split up and sold to a couple of private, foreign collector practitioners and will never be available to the public again. 
We made the decision to do this as we have had some pretty strange visits from even stranger individuals and there have been enough unexplained phenomenon going on in the warehouse where her things were kept that many of our employees refused to go in there.
 
The pieces offered and sold here are some of the few remaining pieces that will ever be offered to the public.
 
Nice addition to any collection, altar, wardrobe or decor, displays really well.
 
Really doesn't get any better than this.
 
There are only 8 photographs below to tell the rest of this tale.

These strands are being sold individually.
 
Buyer to pay $3.85 for Insured USPS Ground Advantage Mail with Tracking, handling and lagniappe.
 
Rest assured your order will be carefully packed to withstand the onslaught of the most deranged of Postal Workers.

 
 
International rates will vary, so please email us for quotes.

Check our other items as new write-ups are usually posted daily.

Props are not part of the deal and once again, these strands are being sold individually.

©Text and Photos Copyright 2001-2024 bushidobuce, all rights reserved. 
 
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